New motion: Pass with no recommendation

Rep. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon, has made a motion to send HB 117 to the full House without recommendation. Guthrie said he, like those who have testified for the past two days, is passionate about the issues raised by the bill. But he said he’s troubled by several things: Why the state’s attorney general wasn’t consulted and involved in the legislation, when he’ll have to defend it; and what impact it could have on Idaho’s Medicaid funding. “Idaho currently gets $1.3 billion a year of Medicaid funding back to the state,” Guthrie said. By passing the bill, Idaho would move from an offensive stance on challenging health care to a defensive stance, he said, as its bill comes up for challenge. He said he wants to “make sure that we’re not guilty of passing something as onerous for the citizens of Idaho as the federal legislation has been for citizens of Idaho.”